US February aluminum imports plunge 47%

US imports for consumption of aluminum products and scrap in February plunged 47% year on year to 238,000 mt, data released by the US Geological Survey Tuesday showed.

Aluminum imports for the period January-February totaled 563,000 mt, down from 935,000 mt in the same period last year. Crude metal and alloy products accounted for majority of imports during January-February at 494,000 mt.

The US imported 150,000 mt of aluminum in February from Canada, the leading source of aluminum imports for consumption during the month. This included 145,000 mt of crude metal and alloys and 5,300 mt of scrap.

Saudi Arabia was the leading source of semi-fabricated aluminum imports for consumption to the US (7,450 mt), including plate, sheet and bar products.

USGS data indicated that US aluminum imports from China plummeted to 5,070 mt in February and 13,000 mt in January-February, down from 15,600 mt and 31,000 mt a year ago, respectively.

Aluminum scrap imports to the US also fell significantly to 8,520 mt in February from 44,500 mt in the same month last year, driven by an 86% decline in imports from Mexico. Scrap imports from Mexico totaled only 1,640 mt in February compared with 11,700 mt in February 2019.

The US exported 236,000 mt of aluminum products and scrap in February, down from 240,000 mt in the year-ago period. The leading destinations for US aluminum exports in the month were Mexico (50,200 mt), Canada (46,500 mt) and India (33,000 mt).

Aluminum exports to China from the US totaled 13,800 mt in February, down from 39,600 mt in February 2019. The fall in exports was largely attributable to a 70% decrease in scraps exports to 11,400 mt.
Source: Platts